Electrically-operated door



April 24, 1928.

H. ROWNTREE ELECTRIGALLY OPERATED noon Filed: 0917.4. 1924 s Sheets-Sheet Qwm April 24, 1928.

H. ROWNTREE ELECTRICALLQY OPERATED nook Filed Oct-4. 1924 s Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR ATTORNEY April 24, 1928. I I 1,666,916

H. ROWNTREE ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DOOR Filed 001:.4. 1924 I 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR BY I 9 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 24, 1928.-

,niiaonn ROWNTREE, or scAiisDALE. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TONATIONAL rm ng MATIC coMPAnmoF new Yo'BK, FN.- ,conron i'r'ioiiflor WEST VIRGINIA.

'ninermcnmjraornnatrnn noon.

Application filed October 4, 1 924. seriainofmrees.

This invention relates to the electrical operation of doors and inore particul arly to that class of doors,.the automatic operation of which .is dependeiiuuponthe approach of a person into the iimm'ediate vicinityof the the door. This arrangement minimizes our door. I The priiiiary object offhe invention is to automatically control-the electrical operation of doors in a simple, compact'qandthoroughly mechanism not "liable to derangement and doors.

capable of long 1 continued use.

to employ as a prime mover a'non reversible motor;

Vell builtandpracticalsmall directzcur rent motors and alternating currentmo'tors,

which are only builtto operate in one direction are readily attainable'at veryi'ea'sonable prices, but small motors which are reversible are difficult and expensive to obtain and are liable to derangement. It is only in the larger sizes apparently that a reversible" motor becomes reallypracticable. Byrusing" a one direction motor, I am able rte-use a small cheap motor-and thus reduce th' lnitial cost of installation and minimizelin subsequentoperating costs. I V Another object of the invention s to provide a novel form oii -*control' device *WlllCh,

in the preferred practical form'of the ii vention, consists in a platform or treadle suspended in such manner thatthe imposing.

The )latform 'sus aension embodies r0- nounced novelty and l'QHdGTS the installation circuits including sivitch'mechanismdirectly doors of'street cars, or, for that matter, in

operated movement of the platform. I

accomplished by hanging :the four corners of the platform from links supportedon the short arms of levers of the first class, the long arms of the levers beingprovided with adjustable weights, through the regulation:

of which the platform may be substantially counterbalanced and made sufficiently sensitive operate under very slight pressures.

a relatively light pressure. thereon will. effect the opening of the associated door.

With this :levei' suspension is associated switch mechanism, the parts being so arranged-that normally open circuits result but are adapted tobe momentarily closed when it"is desiredtoeffec't 'theoperation of ren'tt eonsuinption and consequent operating cos s. a I

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact and highly "e'fiicient' mechanism for imparting movement to the This mechanism may beinomited either. above or :bGlOWlth'Q doorway and is actuated by an electric motor Whicliconstitutes the :prime mover and is controlled, in turn, bywthe suspended platform to which I have referred. The operating mechanismnnder consideration is such as to permit of *the employment io'f a non-reversible motor as a pr me mover-and is automatic in that it will automatically choose the opening andclosing operationsbf the door. The structure is suoh', mor'eover, that it will not get out of order and will remain serviceable indefinitely;

The :present invention may be employed to 0 effect the automaticoperation of doors from either oneside thereof only or fromboth preach or departure of a person toand from is sides thereof, and while pa'rticularly adapted to be automatically controlled by the approximity with :the door, this absolutely automatic operation'may be omitted and-the door; opening and. closing mechanism controlled by' a manually operable switch, depending of course upon the particular en vironmentin which the "invention 'is em ployed. In this connection, it is to be noted that the invention is capable of generalap- .p'l'ication. For example, it may be employed to operate the doors of a building or the accompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the-drawings: I [Figurel is a plan View of door operating mechanism. Y

F igure 2 is a like view illustrating the manner in which the operating mechanism is connected to one of the doors which it actuates.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1 with certain parts illustrated in section and the motor and universal joint, shown in Figure 1, eliminated from this figure in the interest of clearness.

Figure 41 is a section on the line elof Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a wiring diagram of electrical connections which are, in practice, associated with the mechanism shown in the preceding figures.

Figure 6 shows a modified form of wiring diagram. i

Figure 7 illustrates a four part folding door with the present invention associated therewith.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the connections between the door operating mechanism and the doors.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the showing of Figure 7. I

Figure 10 is a side elevation of a platform or treadle by means of which the door opening mechanism is cont-rolled; and,

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmental elevation of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 10.

The door to. be operated is indicated in Figures 7 and 9 of the drawings as a double two part folding door 1, although it will be understood that the present invention maybe associated with any ordinary or desired form or type of door. In the showing of the drawings, each of the double doors are composed of two sections 2 and 3. As usual they are pivoted to one another while one section of each door is mounted for pivotal movement on a'vertical shaft 4. To one end of each of these shafts is secured a suitable operating arm 5 shown best in Figure 2 and movement is transmitted to the doors through these operating arms by mechanism next to be described.

Referring now'particularly to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, 6 designates a small electric motor which serves as a primemover for the door operating mechanism. This motor may be of any suitable make and is preferably of a non-reversible type, being adapted at all times to operate in one direction. The armature shaft 7 of the motor is connected through a universal joint 8 with a stub shaft 9 on which is fixed a worm 10. The stub shaft 9 is journalled within suitable bearings forming part of the bracket 11, and this bracket also provides a bearing for a second stub shaft 12, arranged at substantially ninety degrees to the axis of the shaft 9.

On the shaft 12 is fixed a worm wheel 13, which meshes with the worm 10 and fixed with respect to the worm wheel 13 is a bevel gear 14, so that power from the motor 6 is communicated through the driving connections described to the bevel gear 1 1-.

Extending in substantially parallel relation to the shaft 9 and spaced laterally therefrom is a shaft '15 on which is mounted two bevel gears 16 and 17 so positioned that they are adapted, at all times, to mesh with the bevel gear 1 1 at opposite sides thereof, to

the end that, when the gear 14 is operated the bevel gears 16 and 17 will be simultaneously rotated but in opposite directions with respect to one another.

Both of the gears 16 and 17 are loose on the shaft 15', but are adapted to drive said shaft in corresponding directions through friction disk connections therewith. Thus the gear 16 has rigid therewith afriction disk 18, whilea similar friction disk 19 is rigid with the gear 17. A friction disk 20 cooperates with the disk 18, while another disk. 21 cooperates with the disk 19. The disk 21 has a hub or boss fixed to the shaft by a pin 22, while the disk 20 has a hub or boss which has a feather connection with the relative rotation. Adjusting and locking nuts 23 are however associated with the shaft 15 and are adapted to act against the end of the boss of the disk 20, so that any lost motion between the friction faces of the respective disks may be taken up.

Fixed to one end of the shaft 15 is a col lar 24 and a spring 26 is coiled about the shaft between the collar 24 and a bearing 25, to normally impell the shaft in a direction to bring the friction disk 21 into gripping relation with its cooperating disk 19 and to simultaneously move the disk 20 free from driven relation with respect to its'cooperating disk 18.

However, if the shaft 15 is moved to the right against the tension of the spring 26,

it will be apparent that the disk 20 will be shifted into driven relation with the disk 18 while the disk 21 will be moved free from driven relation with respect to the disk 19 This longitudinal shifting of the shaft against the tension of the spring is acco1nplished by a solenoid 27 and, as best shown in Figure 3, the core28 of this solenoid is connected to a lever 29, one end of which is pivoted at 30 and the other end of which is connected by a link 31 to an arm 32 pivergized, whereupon its core will: be drawn in andi through the linkan'd lever" contiec tions described will shift the shaft 15 tovthe" right to effect a reversal of the direction of rotation of said shaft, 7

To the right hand end of the shaft '15 as shown in Figure is fixed a bevel gear 35, which meshes with a bevel gent mounted for rotation on a Stud 37 the v under side of one half of this be'vel gear' 36 is attached an insulated friction. strip 3-8 of conducting; material with which three contacts 39, 40 and 41 normally engage. The contact strip 38 is arc'uate in form and is of such length that as the gear is rotated by the gear 35, the contacts 39 and 41 are adapted to ride: free oi the opposite ended the contact strip, as the gea1 136 approaches the terminus of its travel, Whereas the control contact 40 is adapted to engagewith said strip at all times, The purpose of these contacts will be hereinafter fu lly disclosed.

The mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 1' 3 is mounted in any suitable relation tothe" vertical opera-ting shafts 4: of the doors and while said mechanism may be mounted either above or-hel'ow the doors it is shown for the purpose of illustration in the former position, as will be seen by reference to Figure 7 Connections are made between the oper ating arms 5 of the respective doorshaft's by means of links 42, one end of each link being connected to one of the operating arms 5, while the other end-of each link is secured to a wrist pin 43 carried by the gear 36, as is clearly shown in Figures and 2 and diagr'a'inmatically" illustrated f Figure 8; i

lVhen the parts aroconncted in the man:

ner specified, rotation of the gear36 in one:

dii-"ecti'on will effect the opening of the.

doors while rotation of such gear in a Conn ter direction will eflf'ect the closing thereof. The direction of rotation of the gear will, manifestly, be dependent upon the condition of the solenoi-d' 27 since if the solenoid is energized the geaa' will be rotated in one direction, whilexif" it is not energizedthe gear will be rotated 'inthe op osite direction.

The energizing of the solenoid" as well as to Figures 10 and 11 oi? the drawings, which 7 illustrate a novel form of platform or treadle, so, constructedthat when the weight of a person is imposed thereon, as for ex allow a person to conveniently r ample by the approach oi such arson into immediatevicinity of the move-- ment will be imparted to the platformfor the; purpose of closing an electric circi'i it to initiate the operation oi the door: opening mechanism.

Referring; to these fignres, 44 designates 1 a lectasngt 1" platform which, inthe em bodinient of theinvention shown, is adapted tounder'lie thedoorand to project beyond both sides thereof, said platform being pro-' vided at each endwith hinged flaps 45 to mount. the latforms: leave the some. 7

At each oi its four corners, a platform is suspendedon a iii-1h 46 the upper end so; I 7

each link being eoimec'tec to the short. arm

of a. leveflfli The lever is fulci'nnied at 48 I on a stationary fnl'cr'tim and on the long 1 arm or each lever is mounted a weight" 49' adapted to'be slid longitu'dii iall y of the-lever" in order to obtain' proper connterbala cing and providedwitlh' suitable means iOf'lnalIF taining it in adjusted position, A' stop 50* is preferably associated with the lever to limit the sword movement of the long arm thereof. At the extreme end of the arm: is a Contact shoe 51 and with this shoe three; contact. loam es 52 5 3 and ar asso"- cia'tedr The Contact leaves are so'posi'tioned that when; the long arm of any lever is elevated, all of said Contact; leave will beinengagement'with the shoe 51, whereas all of 1 said leaves will he disengaged from the shoe" when: the long arm of said laws is depressed.

, In practice, the weights 49 are so adju ted that, under normal conditions, these weiht's- I of the plat onn 44, that the lon arms of the lovers will be normallylowered while the platform will will overhalance' the weight be in raised osition as shown in Figurel'o.

Thead juslinnt is however snlfic'iently itiv' that as soon" as a person stepsupor'r one of the flops45, at least one corner of the lationn will become overhalancedarrd will be depressed to raise the long armof the or-1 responding" levei-and cause the shoe or to approach the con-tact fingers or leaves 52, 53f

l l H" and 54. These Contact fingersfconstitnte part of an electrical control circuit, a wiring diagram ofw-hich is shown in Figures; Is wih be noted from Figure 5 that the lever hoes 51 at the four corners of the platform are irimaltip-le, so that when any corner ofetlieplatform is depressed, the following circuit is immediately established.

".From' a sotr'rce of power 55,.current is fed through any snita-ble-cut of? switch 56 to; the

1 contact 52,. thence throughoneofthe shoes 51 tocontact 53 and from contact 53 to contact finger 39, thence through contact strip 38 and Contact finger 40" through the motor 6 andfrom the motor 6 to ground at 57 simulcarneouslygwith the, ompletion of thi oir'ci'rit, a 'second'ci'r'cuit is compfeted from effect the opening of the door.

the shoe 51 through contactiit to the solenoid 27 and thence to ground at 57. soon the solenoid is energized, its core is c 'awu in and said core carries with it a bridge piece 58 which is adapted to normally engage two contacts 59 and GO mounted at the rear end of said. solenoid. The drawing in of the core 28 of the SOlQl'lOitl, when said solenoid is energized, will cause the lever and link connections, which have been hereinbefore described, to shift the shaft 1011- gitudinally and effect rotation of said shaft through the driven engagement of the friction disk with the disk 18, so that the operation of the motor 6 will be transmitted to the door operating gear 36 in a direction t As the door moves open, the contact strip 38 is shifted around with the bevel gear to which it is attached until the end of the strip passes from under the contact 39,

. which operation take; place shortly before the door is wide open. As soon as the contact 39 leaves the strip 38, the circuitthrough the motor is broken and the motor de-energized, but so long as any one of the treadle shoes 51 are in engagement with their contact springs, the solenoid will remain energized and the door will remain open. As soon, however, as pretsure is re leased from the treadle to allow it to assume its normally raised position, the solenoid circuit will be immediately broken, whereupon thetension of the spring 26 will become effective to shift the shaft 15 to the left and in so doing will retract thev core of the solenoid 27 with the result that the bridge piece 58 will bridge the contacts 59 and 60. The following cireuit will thereupon be established.

From the source 55, through switch 56, contact 59, bridge piece 58, contact (50, switch arm 41, contact strip 38, contact 4:0, motor 6 and to ground at 57. The motor is immediately energized and revolves in the same direction as before, but, inasmuch as the solenoid 27 remains de-energized, power will be transn'iitted from the friction disk 21 to the disk 19 with the result that the door operating gear 36 will be rotated in the opposite direction and the door will be closed. Shortly before the door arrives at a fully closed position, the contact 41 moves free from the end of the contact strip 38 and the circuit of the motor is broken, whereupon the door stops when it is closed. 7

It will be apparent that when the door is in "a closed and idle condition that all. of the circuits are de-energiz-ed or dead. This i"; an important practical consideration since there is no waste of current, current only be-l ing used when door operations are actually taking place.

The operations of the platform to which I have referred are those which result from be installed substantially flush with the floor and inasmuch as movements of theplatform are multiplied through the long leverage connections described, such movements are barely perceptible, if noticeable, to'a person The leverage walking upon the platform. suspension is moreover housed in concealed position. u

The construction which lhave described is highly advantageous because of the free. dom from con'iplications that have upset all. previous attempts at electrical operation of doors. Complicated motor design is not required and the structure is simple and compact and not liable to derangement.

The control as described is particularly applicable to the automatic control of folding doors for passageways, depots, stations or elsewhere where a large number of people are frequently passing. The invention, however, is also readily susceptible to many different uses and may be employed to advan tage on street cars in lieu of the customary pneumatic door controls, in which cnviroin ment it would have some decided advantages. among which may be mentioned the relief of the air compressor from a portion of the work it has hitherto been required of the car. In such a construction, the door could not manifestly be opened from the outside, but only from, the inside as specified.

In adapting the invention to street cars, it may be desirable to eliminate the platform entirely and to use in lieu thereof a control handle. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings.

From the wiring diagram of Figure 6, it will be noted that substantially the same arrangement is present as is illustrated in F igure 5 except that a controller or-switch is substituted for the platform contacts and that the contacts 59 and 60 and the bridge piece 58 shown in Figure 5 at the back of the solenoid are omitted. Moreover, an air control switch, not employed in the con struction of Figure 5, is shownin the con struction' of Figure 6. :It maybe stated with regard to these modifications and omissions that the solenoid switch is not-neoes sary in connection with this-circuit, as the circuit for closing the doorpasses through the hand control switch when it isdesired to close the door. The function of thecircuits shown in Figure 6 may be briefly described as follows. w v

'VVhen it is desired to open the door, the

controller lever 57% which corresponds in its that the door could not be opened unless the car he stopped, this can be arranged in any suitable way, such, for example, asby'including the air switch61 in the wire connection between the contact 52 andthe contact 39. Such an air controlled switch could be connectedto the air pipe line of the scar braking system, sothat when the brakes of the car are applied, the air pressure will be communicated to the switch 61 to cause the bridge piece 62150 bridge contacts63 and 64 and enable the completionv of the circuit which I have described through operation otthe controller handle. A sprin 65. will serve to normally retract the vbridge piece and preclude thecompletion ofsuch circuit when the brakes of the car are not applied,

After a door has been opened in the manner, described topermit theentrance orexit of a passenger, it, may be subsequently closed by shifting the controller to engage with the isfcompleted, V y it From source 55 through out out switch 56 to contact 53, controller57", contact- 54 contact 41, contactstrip 38, contact 40, motor 6 and ,to

contact 541, whereby the following "circuit ground at 57; This circuit does notlinclude the solenoid and consequently the operations of the motor will eflt'ectithe closin ,of the doorQ In; this connection it may enoted thatthe doorvcan be closed evenif the car had started; while it was open, since the door closing circuit does not include the ,air

cure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a doorv operatlng, mechanism, the

combination with a door, of power inecha' nisin for moving the door, an electric motor for operating the power meclianism', '-an electric circuit including themotor" and also including ra i y f net-ca la 99.

switches arranga 1 i.n multiple, each of said switches including. a lever, a treadle suspended on. said levers and overbalanced t-herebyto' normally maintain all of the switches in open condition, said treadle beingdepressible when weight is imposed thereon tor-the purpose otactuating one-or more of the levers to eifect' the closing of the correspond-ingswitch or-switches.

s. 2; 1n afdoor operating mechanism, the

combination with a door, of power mechanismrformoving the door, an electric motor for operating the power mechanism, an electric circuit including the motor and also including a plurality of normally open switches, each of said switches including a lever, a treadle extending beyond the opposite sides of the door and supported in nor mally raisedposition by the levers with all of the switches in o niconditiomsaid tread-le being depressibl when weight is imposed thereon, for the purpose of actuating one or more. of theflevers to close a corresponding numberofswitches.

In a door-operating mechanism, the

combination, with a'door, of power mechanism embodying a door moving element connected with the door, a non-reversible electr c motor, treadle operated means for controlling the operations of the 'motor, re versible drivingconections between the motor and the door moving element, and means for automatically reversing said connections to alternately open and close the'door upon the successive operations of the motor said automatic. reversing action being controlled by said treadle operated means,n

, 4. In a e door operating mechanism, the' combination with aedoor, of power mechanism, embodying a door moving element operatively. connectedwiththe door, a shaft for imparting rotation to the door operating element, a non-reversible, electric m0t0r,, means forcontrolling the operations of the motor, reversible drivin direction to open the door, and means toautomatically condition the driving 60111160,

v 7 connections between the motor and thejs aft, treadle opertions tondrive the shaft infthe opposite -direction to closethe door, said automatic'con-- 'qhitioning actaonbeing produced by said treadle operated means.

5.@In a door operating mechanism, the; comb nation w th a door, ofa idoorimovmg element .operatively connected thereto, a shatt geared to said element and adapted to rotate the same, friction disks fixed in spaced relation onsaidshatt, apair of bevel gears positioned between said disks and having friction .taces adapted, to cooperate with the friction disks, said gears being mounted ,7 to j rotatelloosely onfthe shaft, 3 non-reversible ectr -mo or a bevel P 1 1 1 p itien db tween and meshing with said ears, operative connections between the evel pinion and the motor whereby when the motor is operated, the pinion serves to simultaneously drive both gears in opposite directions, means for normally impelling the shaft in one direction to bring one of the friction disks thereof into driven relation with one of the gears to effect movement of the door in one direction, means for shifting said shaft in the opposite direction to disengage the last mentioned disk and engage the other disk witlrits cooperating gear for the purpose of reversing the rotation of the shaft and moving the door in the opposite direction, and electric connections including the motor, and also switch mechanism for initiating and timing the operations of the motor and automatically controlling the direction of rotationof the shaft.

v6. In door operating mechanism, the combination with a door, of a door moving element operatively connected thereto, a shaft geared to said element and adapted to rotate the same, friction disks fixed in spaced relation on said shaft, a pair of bevel gears positioned between said disks and having friction faces adapted to cooperate with the, friction disks, said gears being mounted'to rotate loosely on the shaft, a non-reversible electric motor, a bevel pinionpositioned between and meshing with said gears, operative connections between the bevel pinion and the motor, whereby when the motor is operated, the pinion serves to simultaneously drive both gears in opposite directions, means for normally impelling the shaft in one direction to bring one of the friction disks thereof into driven relation with one of the gears to eifectmovement of the door in one direction, electromagnetic means for shifting said shaft in the opposite direction to disengage the last mentioned disk and engage the other disk with its cooperating gear for the purpose of reversing the rotation of the shaft and moving the door in the opposite direction, electrical connections embodying switch niechanjism adapted, when shifted in one direction, to complete a'circuit, to energize the motor for the purpose of rotating the shaft in one direction, to open the door and when shifted in the opposite direction to again energize the motor to close the door, said electrical connectlons also including saidelectromagnetic means, and a cut off device for automatically dc-energizing the motor at the conclusion of the door closing operationand'at the conclusion of the door opening operation. V

7; In a door operating mechanism, the combination with a door, of a door moving element operatively connected thereto, a shaft geared to said element and adapted to rotate the same, friction disks fixed in spaced operated the pinion serves to simultaneously drive both gears in opposite directions, means fornormally impelling the shaft in one direction to bring one of the friction disks thereof into driven relation with one of the gears to effect movement of the door inv one direction, electromagnetic means for shift-ing said shaft in the opposite direction to disengage the last mentioned disk and engage the other disk with its cooperating gear for the purpose of reversing the rota tion of the shaft'and moving the door in the opposite direction, and electrical connections embodying switch mechanism adapted when shifted to complet'ea circuit through'the motor while the door is closed, to energize the motor for the purpose of opening the door, and a cut off device also included in said electrical connections to automatically de-energize the motor when the door has been opened, and a switch also included in said electrical connections and adapted when closed to re-energize themotor for the purpose of closing the door, said out off device being adapted to again de-energize the motor when the door has'been closed.

8. In a door operating mechanism, th combination with the door, of a door moving element operatively connected thereto, a non-reversible motor," reversible driving connections between the motor and the door moving element, electromagnetic means for tions including the motor, said electromagnetic means and switch mechanism adapted to. control the operations of the motor, and said electrical'connection's also including a normally open switch, the closingof'which is'caused bythe application of air to the air brakes of the car.

10." In operating mechanism for car doors, the combination with a door, of a'door movembodying a circuit including a treadle operated switch, an automatic cut off switch for the motor, a second circuit including the treadle operated switch and the electromag-i' ing element operatively connected thereto, a non-reversible motor, reversible driving connections betweenthe motor and the door moving element, electromagnetic means for controlling the driving direction of the driving connections, and electrical 7 connections netic means, and a third circuit including the motor, the cut off switch, and an additional switch operable by the electromagnctic means, whereby the closing of the treaclle switch will cause the motor to operate until it is tie-energized by the automatic out oif switch, while the opening of the treadle switch will causethe motor to again v function until it is again de-energized by the cut ofi'switch, said out off switch being automatically controlled by the position of the door to de-energize the motor at the I concluslon of the door opening operation and at the conclusion of the door closing op- V oration. V I v In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 30th day ofSeptember, A. D., 1924. a

HAROLD .ROWNTREE. 

